


Am I Enough?

by whenshewrites



Series: A Collection of One-Shots and Tumblr Prompts [83]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Beta Derek Hale, Derek Hale Deserves Nice Things, Derek Hale Loves Stiles Stilinski, Derek Hale is Bad at Feelings, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, M/M, One Shot, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Pining, Protective Stiles Stilinski, Soft Feels, Stiles Stilinski Loves Derek Hale, Stiles Stilinski is Derek Hale's Anchor, Tumblr Prompt, angst feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:02:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24383251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whenshewrites/pseuds/whenshewrites
Summary: There's only one thing keeping Derek from leaving Beacon Hills and Stiles is determined to convince him to stay.
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Series: A Collection of One-Shots and Tumblr Prompts [83]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1956889
Comments: 17
Kudos: 401





	Am I Enough?

Stiles caught him with a bag in hand, locking up his loft for the last time. 

Derek knew he’d been through this before; leaving Beacon Hills with the determination to never come back. And it hadn’t worked out before. But he was keeping his word now. With his old pack scattered and gone, and with Cora having left Beacon Hills weeks ago, Derek didn’t know what else was keeping him around. It was time he followed her.

Scott would be fine on his own. He had his new pack, even if they were a bunch of pups and children. Scott usually had a level head. He’d be fine eventually.

And Derek, well. Derek was a blue-eyed beta again. It was time he went somewhere else and found his place. Somewhere without the threat of the supernatural hanging over his head every day; somewhere without the memory of everything and his past.

Derek thought there might’ve been a reason he’d stay. But it wasn’t a reason he’d ever say out loud. 

Stiles caught him with his keys in hand, looking at the loft door and willing his feet to move. Derek heard the teen’s heartbeat before he caught his scent; crisp like autumn leaves and with a touch of cinnamon. Derek clenched his jaw and forced himself to turn, seeing Stiles standing uncertainly in the hallway.

“Derek? Uh, dude, what are you doing?”

Derek didn’t answer. Stiles’s face paled and his scent soured with anxiety.

“Are you leaving?”

Derek glanced down at his bag. Stiles’s heartbeat stuttered.

“You’re leaving again,” he said, voice turning hard. Derek winced, lowering his eyes to the floor. Stiles took a shaky breath. “Why?”

“There’s nothing left for me here.”

“Nothing left— what the hell is that supposed to mean, Derek? What about Scott? What about the pack? Derek, dude, it needs you.”

Derek flinched at his words. _It,_ not him. _It,_ not we. Derek shrugged and forced himself to move, starting around Stiles. But the teen reached and caught his shoulder before Derek could take another step, and Derek froze. It would be so easy to yank away. To ignore Stiles and disappear. But, clenching his jaw, Derek turned. Stiles’s amber eyes were pleading when they met his.

“You can’t leave, Derek. Not again.”

“I need to,” Derek said quietly. “I need to go somewhere else.”

“Like somewhere-somewhere else?” Stiles asked, sounding strained. “Or like, somewhere else living-wise else. Cause I can totally help you apartment search, dude. I love apartment searching!”

“Stiles,” Derek said. Stiles’s face tightened.

“Don’t, Derek. Don’t tell me you have to leave. Don’t leave, dammit!”

Derek swallowed. Stiles’s shoulders slumped.

“I can’t do this without you,” he said softly. “Derek, don’t leave me. Not again.”

Derek’s breaths froze in his throat. For a moment, he just stood there, bag feeling heavier in his hands. There was no stutter to Stiles’s heartbeats, no skip. The teen stood there with pleading eyes and his grip tightened around Derek’s arm, fingers clenching into his jacket sleeve. Stiles’s scent was scared— it was _wrong._

“Please,” Stiles said. “Don’t go.”

Derek let his bag thump to the ground. Stiles’s gaze followed it and his eyes flicked up to meet Derek’s. His tongue darted out to wet his lips and gently, Derek pried his hands off of his sleeve. Stiles’s scent changed again.

_“Derek.”_

“Hey,” Derek said softly. “I’m here.”

“Stay here.”

“I don’t—” Derek cut off, seeing Stiles’s expression turned pained. Of all the ways he’d seen this unfolding, this was not even close. He wanted Stiles to yell or scream. To tell him to leave and never come back. He _wanted_ Stiles to send him away. It would make things so much easier. “Stiles, I can’t stay.”

“Why?” Stiles asked, voice cracking. “Is Beacon Hills not enough? Am I…” His face tightened, like the next words hurt to come out. Stiles swallowed hard. “Derek, am I not enough?”

Derek closed his eyes. Stiles pulled away.

“I should go.”

“Stiles—” Derek said, looking at him again. Stiles shook his head.

“No, Derek, don’t let me keep you from _going somewhere else._ I know it hurts, alright? Fuck, Derek, I know staying here can _suck_ sometimes. But we’re pack, Sourwolf! You— you have a family here. You have people here who love you.”

“Do you?” Derek said. The words spilled out before he could stop them.

Stiles looked terrified again. Derek stepped forward and he stepped back. Clenching his fingers into fists, Derek forced himself to stop.

“Who are those people, Stiles?”

“Your pack,” Stiles said, voice shaking. “Who else?”

“You?”

“Derek,” Stiles whispered. “Don’t.”

“Do you love me, Stiles?”

Stiles looked away, his eyes cracking in pain. Derek stood there for a moment, rooted to the spot, and Stiles looked hard at the floor, eyes fixed on any point other than him. Carefully, Derek took another step forward and this time, the teen didn’t move back. Derek reached out and brushed the tips of his fingers against Stiles’s own.

“You can leave,” Stiles said after a moment. “Derek, if you need to leave, then go. But don’t look back.”

“And if I did?”

“You can’t look back,” Stiles said, words strangled. “Because I’ll never be able to let you go if you do.”

“And,” Derek said slowly. “If I… didn’t leave?”

“Then I’d make sure there was always something for you here,” Stiles said, looking up. Once, more his heart didn’t skip a single beat. “Always.”

Derek’s throat tightened so much, he could barely breathe. Stiles’s fingers intertwined with his own and he squeezed gently. His amber eyes searched Derek’s face, as if looking for an answer. Derek forced himself to nod and Stiles stepped forward, turning his face into Derek’s neck. 

“Stay,” Stiles said softly. “You know. For the pack.”

“The pack.”

“And me, Sourwolf. Stay for me.”

“And you.”

Stiles looked up, the barest hint of a smile on his lips. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Derek said, still rooted to the spot. It felt a bit like a dream, his bag forgotten near his foot, and Stiles’s scent of cinnamon and autumn only inches away. Moving forward, he touched his lips against Stiles’s forehead. Stiles melted into the touch. “Mine.”

“Yours.”

“Always?”

Stiles huffed, breaths hot on Derek’s skin. And it was real— he was real. This was his reason to stay. One he never would’ve said out loud; or maybe to Stiles, he would. “Always.”

 _Stay,_ the words echoed. Derek nodded. “Okay.”

_Always._

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt; 'I can't do this without you' and wow, I didn't mean for it to get this angsty. But also... no regrets, right? Of course, the comments and support you guys leave makes my day. I hope you're all doing well!
> 
> Come hang with me on Tumblr! 
> 
> [tumblr dumpser](https://when-she-writes-stuff.tumblr.com/)


End file.
